Chinese-Origin Crypto Exchanges: Origin, Founders, HQ
Several major exchanges, including Binance, MEXC, Bitget, Bybit, Gate and BingX, were founded by teams with documented roots in China, then relocated offshore after Beijing's 2017 and 2021 crypto bans. Where they are licensed today, and how ownership is disclosed, varies exchange by exchange.
A noticeable share of the exchanges traders use every day, Binance, MEXC, Bitget, Bybit and Gate among them, were founded by teams with documented roots in China before relocating offshore. This chinese crypto exchanges list lays out what public sources actually say about origin, founders and current headquarters for each one, and where those sources disagree. Origin is a fact of corporate history, not a verdict on safety: what protects users today is licensing, jurisdiction and disclosure, and we apply the same questions to every platform here, including our commercial partner BYDFi.
Which exchanges trace to China, and why did they move offshore?
China banned crypto trading and mining twice, once in 2017 and again in 2021, and both bans reshaped where these companies are legally based. Binance moved out of China in 2017 as regulators began cracking down, per Wikipedia, cycling through Japan and Malta before settling into what Wikipedia now describes as having “no official company headquarters.” Gate’s predecessor, Bter.com, was founded in Jinan, China in April 2013 by Lin Han before relocating to the Cayman Islands and rebranding as Gate.io in 2017. Bybit’s founder, Ben Zhou, started the exchange in Shanghai in 2018 and moved the team to Singapore after the 2021 ban, later shifting headquarters to Dubai. This pattern of chinese-founded exchange offshore registration shows up across most of the names in this piece.
The full chinese crypto exchanges list: origin, founders, HQ
The table below summarizes what public sources document for each exchange. Where sources conflict or are silent, we say so rather than guess.
| Exchange | Founded | Documented origin | Current base (per sources) | Ownership disclosure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Binance | 2017 | China (Changpeng Zhao, Yi He) | No official HQ, per Wikipedia | Partly — Zhao retained ownership after stepping down as CEO in Nov 2023; MGX bought a minority stake in March 2025 |
| Bitget | 2018 | Singapore base per Wikipedia; Chinese-language sources name Henri Chen as founder | Registered in Seychelles since Dec 2022 | Not public |
| Bybit | 2018 | Shanghai, China (Ben Zhou), per Wikipedia | Dubai | Not public — listed as a private company |
| Gate | 2013 (as Bter) | Jinan, China (Lin Han) | Cayman Islands | Partly disclosed |
| BingX | 2018 | Founders inconsistently reported | Singapore | Not public |
| LBank | 2015/2017 | Hong Kong origin; co-founders named as Allen Wei and Eric He | Sources disagree (BVI, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore) | Not public |
| Bitunix | 2021 | Co-founder named as Arron Lee | Hong Kong (registered in St. Vincent and the Grenadines) | Not public |
| Weex | 2018 | Founder-CEO described only as “Peter”; Stephen Chen co-founder/CMO | Not clearly stated | Not public |
| MEXC | 2018 | Founders disputed across sources | Victoria, Seychelles | Not public |
| BYDFi | 2020 (as BitYard) | Seychelles-rooted entity; founders’ nationalities not stated | Singapore | Partly — CEO named, nationality and equity not disclosed |
MEXC founders, background and headquarters location: what’s actually documented?
MEXC launched in 2018 as MXC Exchange and was previously based in Singapore before settling its registered address in Victoria, Seychelles. Company-profile sources give conflicting accounts of who founded it, and John Chen has led the exchange since 2021, described in one profile as a Singaporean businessman. We found no single authoritative statement reconciling these accounts, so treat founder claims about MEXC with caution until the exchange itself publishes a clearer record. For traders weighing options beyond MEXC, our best MEXC alternatives roundup compares fee structures and verification tiers across several platforms in this list.
Is Bitget’s copy trading and other tooling different from Binance or Bybit?
Bitget built much of its reputation on copy trading, letting newer traders mirror positions from more experienced ones, and it has raised outside capital (10 million dollars from Dragonfly in April 2023, per Wikipedia) to expand that product line. Binance and Bybit also run their own copy-trading and bot features, so the meaningful differences are in fee tiers, asset coverage and regional licensing rather than any one platform having a monopoly on the tool. Bitget has drawn regulatory attention too: Wikipedia lists a 2021 Singapore suspension, a 2023 France AMF blacklisting, Japan FSA warnings in 2023 and 2024, and a UK FCA restriction on retail derivatives in 2024. Readers comparing margin and leverage tools across this group may also find our best high-leverage crypto exchanges guide useful, and our fee calculator and liquidation price calculator help quantify the practical cost differences.
Why origin isn’t a safety rating
None of the facts above are evidence of wrongdoing, and being founded in China says nothing about whether a platform is safe to use today. What actually matters is current jurisdiction, whether the entity holds licenses where you live, and whether it discloses reserves and ownership. Binance’s 2023 guilty plea and 4.3 billion dollar US settlement, and Zhou’s subsequent pardon in October 2025, are documented regulatory history specific to that company, not a generalization about Chinese founders or Chinese nationals. Bybit, by contrast, has picked up a growing list of licenses, including Austria’s crypto-asset service provider authorization in May 2025 and a full UAE virtual asset platform operator license in October 2025. Our rankings table tracks current licensing status across exchanges, and our exchange ownership checklist walks through how to verify this yourself rather than relying on founder nationality as a shortcut.
Individual exchange explainers
For a deeper dive on any single platform, see our dedicated pieces: is Binance a Chinese company covered via Wikipedia’s documented history, our BYDFi exchange review, and full profiles for MEXC, Bitget, Bybit and BingX. Disclosure: BYDFi is this site’s commercial partner and is included on the same terms as every other exchange in this list, assessed against the same public-record questions, with more detail at bydfi.com.
Quick answers for Chinese and international traders
Traders searching for the best crypto exchanges for Chinese traders in 2026 should weigh the same factors as anyone else: licensing coverage, withdrawal limits tied to KYC tier, and fee schedules, which change often enough that checking the official page beats relying on any secondhand comparison, including this one.
Frequently asked questions
Which crypto exchanges were founded by Chinese teams and where are they headquartered now?
Per public sources, Binance, Bitget, Bybit, Gate (formerly Gate.io), BingX, LBank, Bitunix, Weex and MEXC all trace to China-based founders or founding teams. Today they list bases ranging from the Cayman Islands and Seychelles to Dubai, Singapore and, for Binance, no fixed headquarters at all.
Is it safe to use MEXC, Bitget or Gate as a non-Chinese user?
Safety depends on your jurisdiction's licensing coverage, not the founders' nationality. MEXC and Gate are registered offshore (Seychelles and Cayman Islands respectively) with varying regional restrictions, while Bitget holds specific warnings noted by France's AMF and Japan's FSA. Check current licensing in your country before depositing.
How do Binance, Bybit and Bitget trading fees compare in 2026?
Each exchange publishes its own tiered maker and taker schedule with VIP discounts for higher volume, and the gap between them changes with promotions. We did not find a single authoritative side-by-side figure in the sources reviewed here, so check each platform's official fee page directly before comparing.
Which Chinese-origin exchanges allow trading without full KYC verification?
Several offshore-registered platforms in this list, including Gate and MEXC, have historically offered reduced-KYC tiers with capped withdrawal limits rather than no verification at all. Requirements change by jurisdiction and have tightened industry-wide, so confirm current rules on each exchange's own verification page.
Are Chinese-founded exchanges legal to use in the US or EU in 2026?
Legality depends on the specific entity's licensing in your country, not on where its founders originated. Binance, for example, pleaded guilty in the US in November 2023 and paid a 4.3 billion dollar settlement over Bank Secrecy Act and unlicensed money transmitting charges, per Wikipedia, while still operating in many other markets under local registrations.
What trading tools and copy-trade features do MEXC and Bitget offer compared to Binance?
Bitget is widely known for its copy-trading product, which lets users mirror other traders' positions, while MEXC and Binance both offer their own copy-trading and bot tools alongside spot and derivatives markets. Feature sets change frequently, so compare current offerings directly on each exchange's site.
Does being founded in China make an exchange riskier?
No. Origin is a historical fact, not a safety rating. What actually matters for user protection is current jurisdiction, licensing status, and whether reserves and ownership are independently disclosed, which varies exchange by exchange regardless of where the founding team started out.
Who founded BYDFi and where is it based?
BYDFi launched in April 2020 as BitYard and rebranded to BYDFi in January 2023, operating as BYDFi Fintech Ltd with Seychelles roots and a Singapore headquarters, per company-profile sources. Michael Hung is listed as CEO and co-founder; founders' nationalities were not stated in sources reviewed.